I took the last few bites of my yogurt, thinking about how right she was. Regardless of the real marriage and divorce, the town was going to talk. But after she told me more about her dad and her reasons for helping me, I understood why she was taking the risk.
“We leave in ten,” I said, standing and tossing my spoon in the sink.
As if he’d heard me, Marshal appeared from the garage door, and I nodded toward the single brown duffle bag by the couch. “Should I load that up?’
“Yes, thank you. That’s it for me. Blue, you wanna give Marshal your bag?”
She blinked. “I can carry my own bag.”
She meant it, too. But that wasn’t how I ran things. “It’s his job. Just give him your bag.”
She started toward the bedroom, but Marshal raised a hand. “I got it,” he said, disappearing down the hall before she could argue. She watched him, clearly not used to anyone handling her baggage, and I couldn’t help but think of how true that was, both literally and figuratively.
“I’ll never get used to this kind of help,” she muttered.
“It keeps things efficient,” I replied.
Once Marshal walked back through the room and into the garage with her bag, I looked around for anything else we needed to take, then shrugged. “Ready?”
She swallowed. “As ready as I’m gonna be.”
Her fingers curled tight around the strap of her purse, knuckles white, like she already was bracing for impact. Her voice was steady, but I caught the edge of nerves tucked beneath her usual sass.
I stepped closer, lowering my voice, hoping I somehow calmed her nerves. “It’s gonna be fine, Blue. I promise. Less scary than the helicopter. And way less scary than meeting my family.”
She gave me a tight smile, but her eyes said everything.
“Deep breaths,” I said gently. “You’ve got this.”
The ride to the executive airport took about thirty minutes, and I spent every second of it drumming my fingers on my thighs. I’d felt a lot of emotions in my life—anger, ambition, grief—but nerves? Not really my thing. At least not until recently.
And I kind of blamed Gramps.
Ever since Easton and Miles had fallen in love, the man had been on a mission to ensure I wasn’t far behind. Every sly comment and every knowing look was like he was plotting my downfall. Or my emotional growth. Hard to say.
I just knew it was fucking with my head more than I thought it would.
By the time we pulled up to the hangar, Easton and Jesse were already outside talking to the pilot while Grams and Gramps stood nearby, their bags neatly lined up beside them. Easton was animated, talking with his hands as if he was trying to sell the guy a used car. We had all flown with this pilot before, but despite footing the bill for years, I’d barely said more than two words to the guy.
But something about having Blue’s hand in mine made me veer straight toward him and possibly avoid my grandparents for five more minutes.
“West Brooks,” I said, extending a hand like I was running for mayor. “Good to see you.”
The pilot, John, I think, smiled wide. “Absolutely, Mr. Brooks. Always a pleasure serving the Brooks family. Give us a few minutes to finish loading your bags, and we’ll get you boarded.”
I nodded as if I were a normal, functioning adult and turned to see Easton eyeing me like I’d grown a second head. I didn’t blame him. That was the most social I’d been with anyone outside of an employee, or a family member, in years. At least that he’d witnessed.
He clapped me on the back as he walked past, laughing. Jesse moved to introduce herself to Blue, but Easton grabbed her hand and gently tugged her away. He knew what was coming and he wasn’t letting Jesse distract from the inevitable.
I squeezed Blue’s hand tighter and took a slow breath as we approached Grams and Gramps. They were both watching us, sporting identical bemused expressions. Their arms were crossed, and their eyes were narrowed with curiosity.
We stood in front of them for entirely too long without me saying a word. It was an awkward silence that everyone was waiting on me to put an end to. But when I finally opened my mouth, Blue beat me to it and introduced herself.
“Hi! I’m Blair, well, Blue. Everyone calls me Blue.” Her voice was bright, warm, totally disarming. She extended her hand to Grams, then to Gramps. “It’s so nice to meet you both. Honestly, it kind of feels like I’m meeting royalty.”
Gramps chuckled, his expression softening as he took her hand. “Well, we’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
Blue blinked, clearly surprised, and glanced at me.
